Computer Science – Sound
Scientific paper
Dec 2002
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2002agufm.p12a0368g&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2002, abstract #P12A-0368
Computer Science
Sound
0694 Instrumentation And Techniques, 0925 Magnetic And Electrical Methods, 1829 Groundwater Hydrology, 5430 Interiors (8147), 6225 Mars
Scientific paper
Detection of subsurface, liquid water is an overarching objective of the Mars Exploration Program (MEP) because of its impacts on life, climate, geology, and preparation for human exploration. Although planned orbital radars seek to map subsurface water, methods with more robust depth-penetration, discrimination, and characterization capabilities are necessary to "ground truth" any results from such radars. Low-frequency electromagnetic (EM) methods exploit induction rather than wave propagation and are sensitive to electrical conductivity rather than dielectric constant. Groundwater on Mars will likely be saline and therefore will present a near-ideal EM target, especially beneath very dry overburden. The Naiades Mars Scout - named for the Greek mythological nymphs of springs, rivers, lakes, and fountains - comprise twin Landers directed to a high-priority region for groundwater investigation. Broadband measurements of natural EM fields will be used for passive magnetotelluric, wave-tilt, and geomagnetic-depth soundings. Active, time-domain electromagnetic (TDEM) soundings will supplement natural sources (lightning?) above ~1 Hz. The two Landers are positioned within several tens of kilometers of each other so that remote references can improve natural-source data quality; useful results can, however, be acquired by a single Lander. The expected depth of exploration of the TDEM is several hundred meters or more, sufficient to determine whether putative groundwater near "gullies" is still extant. Low-frequency natural signals from the solar wind, ionosphere, and possibly crustal magnetospheres will enable passive soundings to 10 km or greater, sufficient to detect and characterize deep, stable groundwater. Additional mission objectives include detection of ground ice, characterization of natural EM fields, measurement of electrical properties of the atmosphere, dust, soil, and interior, constraints on planetary heat flow (from the thickness of the cryosphere), measurement of crustal magnetism, characterization of seismicity, seismic imaging of the interior, and assessment of landing-site geomorphology. A short-period seismometer and a wide-angle camera complete the payload to achieve these objectives. The Naiades mission strongly resonates with the main "Follow the Water" theme of the MEP, but in ways that are not currently within the scope of the MEP or that of NASA's international partners. The combination of established terrestrial methods for groundwater exploration, robust flight systems, and cost effectiveness proposed for the Naiades is a relatively low-risk approach to answering key questions about water on Mars within the Scout framework.
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